TYLER, Texas (KLTV) – For the first time in history, states could be forced to pay part of federal SNAP benefit costs.<\/p>\n
The \u201cBig Beautiful Bill\u201d could soon have Texas paying hundreds of millions of dollars for SNAP benefit penalties.<\/p>\n
Food assistance groups like Feeding Texas are hoping for a delay in the bill\u2019s timeline to continue serving more than three million Texans.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the event that there is no delay and January 2027 rolls around then we will be pushing for the legislature to fully fund SNAP and not make any policy changes that take food away from vulnerable Texans,\u201d Feeding Texas CEO Celia Cole said.<\/p>\n
There are two sides to SNAP funding: administrative costs and benefit costs.<\/p>\n
Administrative costs cover things like staff, technology and applications.<\/p>\n
Benefit costs are the actual grocery assistance.<\/p>\n
The Big Beautiful Bill reshapes SNAP financing by shifting more administrative and food benefit costs to the states.<\/p>\n
In less than five months, states will cover 75 percent of SNAP administrative costs, a 25% increase from what they are currently responsible for.<\/p>\n
On October 1 of 2027, states with payment error rates higher than six percent will share between five to fifteen percent of SNAP benefit costs.<\/p>\n
\u201cPayment errors are not intentional or fraud,\u201d Cole said. \u201cThey are honest mistakes made by the state or participants.\u201d<\/p>\n
A state\u2019s payment error rates will determine the amount of SNAP benefit costs.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo if states have an error rate of below six percent there is no cost share. The cost share is zero,\u201d Jamie Olson, Feeding Texas Vice President of Advocacy and Policy said.<\/p>\n
Right now, Texas\u2019 payment error rate is 8.32 percent.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re looking at a 709 million dollar cost share based on the current data that we have,\u201d Olson said.<\/p>\n
The cost burden for 2028\u201329 will be determined by the payment error rate after 2026.<\/p>\n
Cole said several states are pushing for Congress to delay the cost implementation by two years to allow states enough time to lower their error rates.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are behind this delay because we feel like it will balance the commitment to payment accuracy with reasonable expectations for states,\u201d Cole said.<\/p>\n
Organizations worry the change will ultimately entice states to remove or discourage more people from receiving food assistance.<\/p>\n
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